The present invention relates generally to display and storage devices, and more particularly, is directed to a jewelry case for storing and displaying jewelry items.
It is known to provide a fabric insert within a jewelry case to provide an aesthetic appearance, to hold the jewelry, and at the same time covering and hiding the plastic or wooden case and the hinge assembly. Thus, the hinge assembly and case do not detract from the appearance of the jewelry within the jewelry case. Conventionally, fabric inserts have been glued or otherwise adhered within jewelry cases. However, this results in an additional material, namely the adhesive. Also, positioning of the fabric inserts in a jewelry case with an adhesive is a difficult job, since alignment must be perfect before the adhesive dries. Further, if the fabric inserts become soiled or otherwise need to be changed, there is no way to replace the fabric inserts, and as a result, the entire jewelry case must be thrown away. This is because the fabric insert is permanently mounted in the case.
It is also known to provide metal jewelry cases having inwardly rolled or turned metal edges, which help to lock a fabric insert into the case. Examples of these are sold by Jewelpak, 2640 E. 37th Street, Vernon, Calif. 90058 under the trademark xe2x80x9cSOFTOUCH.xe2x80x9d However, the walls of the case must be very thin to permit the bending of the sheet metal, and these cases must be manufactured from metal. The primary reason is to eliminate exposure of the rough edges. Although a fabric insert is held beneath the rolled edges, the inner lip provided by the rolled edges is of a very small dimension and is therefore of a very small inwardly directed depth. Thus, it could not be used to hold a pad in the jewelry case. Also, the inwardly directed depth of the walls must be constant throughout, and there is no possibility of varying the depth for certain walls relative to other walls. Further, such arrangement could not be provided for jewelry boxes made of other materials, such as plastic, wood, etc., since these materials cannot be rolled. Lastly, this case must provide the rolled edge substantially around the entire periphery and at all four corners. Otherwise, the jewelry case will look incomplete and not aesthetically pleasing.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a jewelry case that overcomes the problems with the aforementioned prior art.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a jewelry case having a fabric insert held therein without an adhesive.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide such a jewelry case having an inwardly extending retaining ledge at the open edges of the top cover and base for holding a fabric insert therein.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a case includes a base having a bottom wall, a peripheral side wall connected to the bottom wall, and a first inwardly extending retaining ledge connected to the upper end of the peripheral wall; a top cover having a top wall, a peripheral side wall connected to the top wall such that a cavity is defined between the top wall and the peripheral side wall of the top cover and the bottom wall and the peripheral side wall of the base when the jewelry case is in a closed condition, and a second inwardly extending retaining ledge connected to the lower end of the peripheral wall of the top cover; a hinge which pivotally connects together the base and the top cover; and a fabric covering which covers inner surfaces of the top cover and the base, the fabric covering having edges retained under the first and second inwardly extending retaining ledges to retain the fabric covering in position without adhesive.
The peripheral side wall of the base has an upper surface, and the first inwardly extending retaining ledge has an upper surface which is coplanar and forms a continuation of the upper surface of the peripheral side wall of the base. In like manner, the peripheral side wall of the top cover has a lower surface, and the second inwardly extending retaining ledge has a lower surface which is coplanar and forms a continuation of the lower surface of the peripheral side wall of the top cover.
Each of the retaining ledges extends inwardly in substantially perpendicular relation from the respective peripheral side walls.
The first inwardly extending retaining ledge has a lower surface which is substantially parallel with the upper surface of the first inwardly extending retaining ledge and extends inwardly in substantially perpendicular relation from the respective peripheral side walls; and the second inwardly extending retaining ledge has an upper surface which is substantially parallel with the lower surface of the second inwardly extending retaining ledge and extends inwardly in substantially perpendicular relation from the respective peripheral side walls.
The fabric covering includes a top covering section which covers the inner surfaces of the top cover; a bottom covering section which covers the inner surfaces of the base; and a hinge covering section which connects together the top covering section and the bottom covering section.
The peripheral side wall of the base includes a front wall, a rear wall and opposite side walls connecting together the front wall and the rear wall, and the bottom covering section includes a first section for covering the bottom wall, a second section connected along a fold line with the first section for covering one side wall and a third section connected along a fold line with the first section for covering the other side wall. In like manner, the peripheral side wall of the top cover includes a front wall, a rear wall and opposite side walls connecting together the front wall and the rear wall, and the top covering section includes a fourth section for covering the top wall, a fifth section connected along a fold line with the fourth section for covering one side wall of the top cover and a sixth section connected along a fold line with the fourth section for covering the other side wall of the top cover. The hinge covering section connects the first and fourth sections together.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description thereof which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings.